Alternatives
Decodo alternatives, and is IPRoyal the better pick?
Leaving Decodo's proxies or scraping API? Who fits each job, what 3, 25 and 250 GB cost, how IPRoyal compares, and which rivals are sister brands.
For residential proxies, the Decodo alternative I’d look at first is DataImpulse. IPRoyal, the name most often weighed against Decodo, beats it only on unspent traffic. DataImpulse and IPRoyal both keep unused traffic forever, while unused Decodo GB is lost at renewal; DataImpulse lists $1/GB, so 250 GB costs $250 against $625 on Decodo’s card. IPRoyal, DataImpulse, Decodo.
Two popular “alternatives,” Oxylabs and Webshare, are Decodo’s sister companies. Below I sort the options by what you’re replacing, price them at 3, 25 and 250 GB, and answer the IPRoyal question with both sides’ prices.
Short on time?
Here's my take
- Residential from an outside company, any volume
- DataImpulse
- $1/GB with no monthly minimum: $25 for 25 GB and $250 for 250 GB. Unused GB never expire.
- Instead of Decodo, if your use is irregular
- IPRoyal
- Traffic never expires and it's outside Decodo's group. Costs more per GB: 10 GB is $52.50 against Decodo's $35, and DataImpulse is cheaper still.
- Lowest monthly card, group doesn't matter
- Webshare
- 10 GB for $27.50, 25 GB for $65 and 250 GB for $500 on a SAVE discount. It's a sister brand; discount length isn't stated.
- Everything from one outside company
- Bright Data
- Proxies and Unlocker in one account; $999 buys 332 GB with a 3-month coupon, about 166 GB at list. New residential zones need company approval.
- Replacing the Web Data API
- Zyte
- Pay-as-you-go from $0.13 per 1K requests, a $5 free credit, and no premium-pool default to watch.
- Search results only
- apiserpent.com
- $0.60 per 1,000 calls with no subscription, or $0.30 after a $100 deposit.
Prices verified . Sponsors cannot buy a verdict or a position.
This page is part of the proxies hub. For Decodo’s own prices worked out at 1, 10 and 100 GB, read Decodo pricing. If Bright Data is the switch you’re weighing, Bright Data vs Decodo compares the two bills over six months.
Who replaces what, at a glance #
Prices verified 2026-11-12, USD, before VAT. “In Source?” means the company is in the same group as Decodo.
| Alternative | Decodo product it replaces | Entry price | Trial or free tier | Unused traffic | KYC note | In Source? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPRoyal | Residential | $7.00/GB for 1 GB (subscription); $7.35 PAYG | At IPRoyal’s discretion; no published terms | Never expires | ID verification unlocks all services | No |
| DataImpulse | Residential | $1/GB, any volume; $5 for 5 GB for new customers | 7-day refund policy | Never expires | None mentioned on its residential page | No |
| Webshare | Residential, datacenter | 1 GB for $3.50 a month | 10 free datacenter proxies, 1 GB a month | Not stated | Not checked | Yes |
| Oxylabs | Residential, mobile, ISP, Site Unblocker, Web Data API | $15 wallet; residential $6/GB | One-time $5 credit, verified companies | Expires at cycle end | Questionnaire for every customer | Yes |
| Bright Data | Residential, Site Unblocker | $8/GB PAYG list; $4 with a 3-month coupon | 5K free Unlocker requests a month | Not checked | Company approval for new residential zones | No |
| Zyte | Web Data API, Site Unblocker | $0.13–$1.27 per 1K HTTP requests | $5 credit for 30 days | Pay-as-you-go | Not checked | No |
| ScraperAPI | Web Data API | $49 for 100K credits | 7 days with 5,000 credits | Not checked | Not checked | No |
| ScrapingBee | Web Data API | $19 for 75K credits | 1,000 free credits, no card | Not checked | Not checked | Yes |
| apiserpent.com | Web Data API /search | $0.60 per 1,000 calls, no deposit | 10 free calls on signup | Not checked | Not checked | No |
Extra sources: IPRoyal KYC, IPRoyal terms §6.15, Webshare free plan, Oxylabs KYC, Oxylabs welcome credit, Bright Data access rules.
What are you replacing? #
Decodo sells three kinds of product, and each has different replacements. Decodo says it has run “since 2018” and was “formerly known as Smartproxy”; IPRoyal’s comparison page dates the rename to 2025. Decodo about, IPRoyal’s page.
| Decodo product | What it costs today | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Residential proxies | 3 GB $11.25, 10 GB $35, 25 GB $81.25, 50 GB $150, 100 GB $275; Enterprise 250 GB $625 and 1 TB $2,000; PAYG $4/GB | GB |
| Mobile proxies | 2 GB $7.50 up to 100 GB $275, 250 GB $625, 500 GB $1,125; PAYG $4/GB | GB |
| ISP proxies | Shared from $0.27 per IP or $1.30/GB; dedicated from $2 per IP (3 IPs $9.99) | IP or GB |
| Site Unblocker | 1 GB $10, 10 GB $85, 100 GB $675, 500 GB $2,750 | GB |
| Web Data API | Free (10K pages), then $19 to $1,499 a month; on the $99 plan, /scrape is $0.30 per 1K standard, $0.70 premium, and /search $0.60 per 1K | 1K requests |
Sources: residential, mobile, ISP, Site Unblocker, Web Data API, API billing. Decodo’s proxy prices are “+ VAT.”
Oxylabs and Webshare are Decodo's sister companies
Decodo, Oxylabs, Webshare, ScrapingBee and Honeygain are the five companies in Source, a Vilnius group launched on 13 October 2026. Source calls Decodo its “mid-market driver” and Webshare its “entry-market leader,” and says the brands “continue to operate independently.” Launch release, Source.
Source’s CEO, Vytautas Savickas, ran Decodo until March 25, 2026, when Decodo announced a new CEO and Oxylabs announced Savickas as CEO of the Oxylabs group. Oxylabs bought Webshare in 2022. Decodo CEO post, Oxylabs leadership post, Webshare deal.
Oxylabs runs a “Decodo alternative” page that doesn’t mention the shared group, and Decodo’s About page doesn’t mention Source either. I found no primary page saying who legally owns Decodo. Oxylabs’ page, Decodo about. The same group shows up from the other side in Oxylabs alternatives.
Why do people leave Decodo? #
I can’t read the Reddit thread that ranks for this search, so these reasons come from Decodo’s own documents. Each is a real cost or limit worth knowing before you renew or switch.
- The trial turns into a plan. The 100 MB, 3-day trial activates your chosen paid plan unless you cancel, and the money-back guarantee doesn’t cover the trial. Residential pricing.
- Unused GB disappears at renewal. It isn’t “transferred to the new billing cycle” on renewal or downgrade, though it moves over on an upgrade. Unused GB FAQ.
- Extra GB expires fast. Traffic bought on the dashboard after you run out “will expire within the same billing month.” Extra traffic FAQ.
- PAYG and monthly don’t mix. Pay-as-you-go needs a Wallet top-up, is bought 1 GB at a time, and can’t run alongside a monthly plan. Residential pricing.
- Wallet credit expires too, if unused for twelve months, “and no refund shall be issued.” Licence.
- Refunds are narrow: within 14 days of a first purchase, no trial used, and no more than 20% of traffic or 1 GB used, whichever comes first; no crypto, no Enterprise. Refund FAQ.
- The API defaults to the premium pool. If you don’t set
proxy_pool, /scrape bills at the premium rate ($0.70 per 1K on the $99 plan, not $0.30). API billing. - Some targets are off by default. Ticketing and government sites are on the default restricted list and can’t be unlocked by ID verification; you have to ask support. Restricted targets.
For the full price breakdown and worked examples, see Decodo pricing.
For residential, ISP and mobile proxies #
For residential traffic from a company outside Decodo’s group, I’d pick DataImpulse at any volume; IPRoyal also keeps traffic forever but costs more per GB. If the group doesn’t matter, Webshare’s cards beat Decodo’s from 10 GB up. Every pool size below is the vendor’s own claim.
DataImpulse lists “$1 per GB,” with “no subscription, no monthly minimum,” and says “Buy any volume you like. Unused GBs never expire.” Its cards are $5 for 5 GB (one-time, new customers), $50 for 50 GB, $800 for 1 TB and custom from $4,000 for 5 TB+; it claims 90M+ IPs and a 7-day refund policy. DataImpulse.
Webshare (sister brand) lists rotating residential at 1 GB for $3.50, 10 GB for $27.50, 25 GB for $65, 100 GB for $225 and 250 GB for $500, as SAVE discounts off a $3.50/GB reference; it claims 80M+ IPs. Plans renew monthly, and the refund window is 2 days with under 0.1 GB used. Webshare residential, Webshare pricing.
Bright Data lists $8/GB pay-as-you-go, $4 with the RESIGB50 coupon for three months. Its monthly cards of $499 for 141 GB, $999 for 332 GB and $1,999 for 798 GB use the same coupon; at the struck-through list rates of $7, $6 and $5/GB, that money buys about 71, 166 and 400 GB.
New residential zones created after July 7, 2026 need approval as a registered business, and access is “never automatic.” Bright Data pricing, access rules.
Oxylabs (sister brand) bills residential from one monthly wallet: $6/GB on the $15 Starter (shown as up to 2 GB), $5 on Basic ($100), $4 on Flexible ($500) and $2.50 on Enterprise. Unused credit expires at the end of the cycle. Oxylabs residential.
IPRoyal gets its own section below, because it’s the alternative people most often weigh against Decodo.
For mobile, the only alternative I priced is Oxylabs, at $7.50 down to $3.50/GB depending on the wallet. For ISP, Oxylabs lists $1.50 to $1.10 per IP, and IPRoyal’s comparison page lists ISP from $1.80 per proxy. Oxylabs pricing, IPRoyal’s page.
Pool sizes don't agree, even on the vendors' own pages
Decodo says 115M+ IPs on its pricing page and 125M+ on its About page. IPRoyal says 64M+ on its pricing page and 68M+ on its comparison page. Bright Data’s comparison page says 400M+ in its table and 150M+ in its FAQ. Decodo pricing, Decodo about, IPRoyal pricing, IPRoyal’s page, Bright Data’s page.
I’d treat all of them as marketing ranges, not a reason to pick one provider over another.
For the Web Data API or Site Unblocker #
Decodo’s API bills per 1K requests with a premium default, and Site Unblocker bills per GB. The alternatives use requests, credits or GB, so compare cost per page you keep, not the headline unit. API billing, Site Unblocker.
Zyte is my pick for most switchers. It’s pay-as-you-go at $0.13 to $1.27 per 1K HTTP requests and $1.01 to $16.08 per 1K browser requests, with $100, $200 or $500 monthly commitments and a $5 free credit for 30 days. Zyte pricing, Zyte API pricing explained.
ScraperAPI fits a fixed monthly budget: Hobby is $49 for 100K credits, up to $1,975 for 21.5M, and a Google request costs 25 credits. Its page offers a 7-day trial with 5,000 credits, and its FAQ also mentions a 1,000-credit free plan. ScraperAPI pricing, ScraperAPI pricing explained.
Bright Data Web Unlocker is the closest swap for Site Unblocker, but it bills per successful request rather than per GB: $1.50 per 1K pay-as-you-go, or $499 a month for 383K, with 5K free a month. Web Unlocker pricing.
ScrapingBee is a sister brand: it “has officially become part of Oxylabs’ group.” Hobby is $19 for 75K credits, Freelance $49 for 250K and Startup $99 for 1M; JavaScript rendering costs 5 credits a request, and 1,000 free credits need no card. ScrapingBee pricing, ScrapingBee’s post, ScrapingBee pricing explained.
Only using /search? Decodo charges $0.60 per 1K on the $99 plan and $0.75 on Free. apiserpent.com lists the same $0.60 per 1,000 calls with no deposit or subscription, then $0.30 after a $100 deposit, $0.10 at $500, $0.05 at $1,000 and $0.03 at $1,250, with 10 free calls on signup. Decodo API billing, apiserpent.com pricing.
It covers Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and Brave, plus news, image, video and shopping results. Deep Search bills each results page as a call (up to 10). Its pricing page doesn’t say which result features a call returns, so compare a sample response with Decodo’s before switching. apiserpent.com pricing.
If you’re unsure whether you need a managed API or raw proxies at all, scraping API vs proxies covers that first.
IPRoyal or Decodo? #
Pick IPRoyal if your usage is irregular and you don’t want unspent GB to vanish. Pick Decodo if you use about the same traffic every month, because its cards are cheaper per GB and its refund window is wider. Neither company’s published data says anything reliable about which pool works better on your targets.
Prices verified 2026-11-12, USD.
| IPRoyal | Decodo | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | $7.00 subscription; $7.35 PAYG | $4 PAYG |
| 10 GB | $52.50 subscription ($5.25/GB); $55.10 PAYG | $35 monthly card; $40 via PAYG |
| Bigger volumes | Published cards stop at 10 GB; custom $1.75/GB from 10 TB | Cards to 1 TB ($2,000) |
| Unused traffic | Never expires | Lost at renewal or downgrade; moves over on upgrade |
| Extra charges | Service Fee per payment; the amount isn’t stated in the terms and shows at checkout | VAT added |
| Trial | Discretionary; a “Start Free Trial” button, no published terms | 100 MB for 3 days, then the paid plan starts |
| Refund | Only if the service is inactive or defective in the first 24 hours; crypto never | 14 days, 20% or 1 GB used, no trial, no crypto, no Enterprise |
| Restricted targets | Not checked | Ticketing and government blocked by default |
| Group | Independent | Source (sister of Oxylabs and Webshare) |
Sources: IPRoyal pricing, IPRoyal product page, IPRoyal terms v10, Decodo pricing, Decodo unused GB, Decodo refunds, Decodo restricted targets.
On price alone, Decodo wins at both published sizes: $4 against $7.00 for 1 GB, and $35 against $52.50 for 10 GB. IPRoyal’s advantage is time. If you buy 10 GB and only use 4 this month, IPRoyal keeps the other 6 for later, while Decodo’s monthly plan doesn’t carry them into the next cycle.
IPRoyal’s terms add two costs Decodo doesn’t have: a Service Fee charged once per payment and not refunded unless the payment itself is, and a refund rule limited to a dead or faulty service in the first day. Decodo’s refund is still conditional, but 14 days with up to 1 GB used gives you room for a short check. IPRoyal terms, Decodo refunds.
PCMag’s comparison picks Decodo, rating it 4.0, and gives Decodo the pool and privacy categories. It also criticizes IPRoyal for sourcing residential IPs through its own Pawns.app and for privacy-policy wording close to MarsProxies’. That’s PCMag’s opinion; its page shows no date and carries an “Available at Decodo” button, and its prices looked older than today’s cards. PCMag.
For how each provider describes where its IPs come from, see ethical residential proxies.
What would 3, 25 or 250 GB cost elsewhere? #
I picked three of Decodo’s own card sizes, and for each rival took the cheapest published purchase that covers the volume. Prices verified 2026-11-12, USD, before VAT.
| Provider | 3 GB a month | 25 GB a month | 250 GB a month | Unused traffic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decodo | $11.25 | $81.25 | $625 | Lost at renewal; moves over on upgrade |
| DataImpulse | $3 at $1/GB (new customers: $5 for 5 GB) | $25 | $250 | Never expires |
| Webshare (sister) | $27.50 (10 GB card) | $65 | $500 | Not stated |
| Bright Data | $24 PAYG list; $12 with coupon | $200 PAYG list; $100 with coupon | $1,999 card at list (about 400 GB at $5/GB); $999 for 332 GB with coupon | Not checked |
| Oxylabs (sister) | $100 (Basic; Starter shows up to 2 GB) | $500 (Flexible) | From $2,500 (Enterprise) | Expires at cycle end |
| IPRoyal | Not published; cards are 1, 2 and 10 GB | Not published; cards stop at 10 GB | Not published; cards stop at 10 GB | Never expires |
Inputs: Decodo, DataImpulse, Webshare, Bright Data, Oxylabs, IPRoyal.
DataImpulse is the cheapest at all three sizes on published prices. Decodo beats Webshare at 3 GB, Webshare wins at 25 and 250 GB, and Oxylabs is the most expensive of the group at every size here; its Flexible wallet tops out at 125 GB, so 250 GB means Enterprise or top-ups at a rate it doesn’t publish.
These are prices for traffic, not results. For the same six-vendor question at 1 GB, 100 GB and 1 TB, see the cheapest residential proxies.
What other pages still say about Decodo
- “From $1.50/GB” with a “$0.75/GB” promo (Bright Data’s Decodo page): Decodo now lists $4 pay-as-you-go, $3.75 to $2.75/GB on monthly cards and $2.50 to $2/GB on Enterprise, with “no coupon needed.” Bright Data’s page, Decodo pricing.
- “$1.50/GB” and “65M+” IPs (Numerous): both out of date; Decodo now claims 115M+ or 125M+ depending on the page. Numerous.
- Decodo traffic “expires every month” (IPRoyal’s page): mostly right; unused GB is lost at renewal or downgrade, but moves over on an upgrade. IPRoyal’s page, Decodo FAQ.
- Oxylabs’ “Decodo alternative” page contains no Decodo data at all, and doesn’t say the two companies are in the same group. Oxylabs’ page.
Where do the benchmark numbers come from? #
Mostly from sellers. String published a benchmark of Decodo and 16 others in October 2026; String sells a competing API, ranks itself first, and benchmarks Decodo’s Web Data API rather than its proxies. Oxylabs’ Decodo-alternative page prints a table, framed with Proxyway’s definitions and research, that compares Oxylabs with other providers, not with Decodo. String, Oxylabs’ page.
I don’t repeat any of those figures. Decodo’s licence bars publicly sharing “performance information or analysis (including, without limitation, benchmarks),” so a fair comparison that includes Decodo isn’t something I can publish. Decodo licence. A small check on your own targets during a trial or refund window is the only number that matters for your job.
Switching without paying twice #
- Cancel the trial before day 3 if you’re still evaluating, or the chosen plan starts. Residential pricing.
- Spend your GB before renewal. Unused monthly traffic doesn’t carry over, and extra GB expires within the same month. Unused GB, extra traffic.
- Use or note your Wallet balance. Credit unused for twelve months expires without a refund. Licence.
- Clear the new vendor’s KYC first. Bright Data’s residential approval is “never automatic,” and IPRoyal ties all services to ID verification. Bright Data, IPRoyal.
- Map your geo and session settings to the new provider’s syntax before you cut over.
- Move proxies and the API separately. If you’re replacing the Web Data API, compare against the premium rate you were actually paying, since that’s Decodo’s default. API billing.
So which one would I switch to? #
Residential from an outside company, at any volume: DataImpulse, at $1/GB with no minimum and GB that never expire. Irregular use, if it’s IPRoyal or Decodo: IPRoyal, because its traffic never expires. Lowest monthly card if the group doesn’t matter: Webshare, from 10 GB up.
One outside company for proxies and unblocking: Bright Data, once its residential approval is through. Web Data API: Zyte. Search results only: apiserpent.com.
Stay with Decodo if you use a small, steady amount, around 3 GB a month: its $11.25 card costs less than Webshare’s 10 GB card or Oxylabs’ Basic wallet, and only DataImpulse came in lower in my table. For a wider field, see the best proxy providers for web scraping, Bright Data alternatives and residential proxy free trials.
FAQ #
What is the best alternative to Decodo? #
For residential proxies, I’d pick DataImpulse at $1/GB, whose unused GB never expire, at any volume. IPRoyal also keeps traffic forever but costs more than Decodo’s cards. For the Web Data API I’d pick Zyte, and for search results only, apiserpent.com. Picks by job.
Is Decodo the same as Smartproxy? #
Yes. Decodo describes itself as formerly known as Smartproxy, and its footer says formerly smartproxy.com. A third-party comparison page dates the rename to 2025. Decodo about, IPRoyal’s page.
Are Decodo and Oxylabs the same company? #
They are sister companies in the Source group, launched on 13 October 2026, alongside Webshare, ScrapingBee and Honeygain. Source says each brand runs independently, and I found no primary page saying who legally owns Decodo. Source.
Is IPRoyal cheaper than Decodo? #
Not on the published cards. One GB is $7.00 on IPRoyal’s subscription against $4 on Decodo’s pay-as-you-go, and 10 GB is $52.50 against Decodo’s $35 card. IPRoyal can still cost less overall if you’d otherwise lose unused Decodo GB at renewal. IPRoyal, Decodo.
Is IPRoyal better than Decodo? #
For irregular use, I think so, because purchased traffic never expires. For steady monthly use, Decodo’s cards are cheaper per GB and its refund window is wider. PCMag’s comparison picks Decodo. PCMag.
Does Decodo traffic expire? #
Unused monthly GB is not transferred to the next billing cycle on renewal or downgrade, but moves over when you upgrade. Extra GB bought mid-month expires within the same month, and Wallet credits expire after 12 months unused. Unused GB FAQ, licence.
Which Decodo alternative has a free trial? #
Zyte gives a $5 credit for 30 days, ScrapingBee 1,000 free credits, Webshare 10 free datacenter proxies, Oxylabs a one-time $5 credit for verified companies, and Bright Data 5K free API requests a month. IPRoyal publishes no standard trial terms. Zyte, ScrapingBee, IPRoyal terms.
Sources
44 sources, accessed .
Official pricing, docs, changelogs and status pages 40
- Decodo residential pricing
- Decodo mobile pricing
- Decodo ISP proxies
- Decodo Site Unblocker pricing
- Decodo Web Data API pricing
- Decodo Web Data API billing
- Decodo restricted targets
- Decodo unused GB FAQ
- Decodo extra traffic FAQ
- Decodo refund FAQ
- Decodo licence agreement
- Decodo about page
- Decodo CEO change
- Source launch release (GlobeNewswire)
- Introducing Source
- Oxylabs group leadership change
- Oxylabs acquires Webshare (2022)
- IPRoyal residential pricing
- IPRoyal residential product page
- IPRoyal terms of service v10
- IPRoyal KYC policy
- IPRoyal's Decodo comparison page
- Webshare residential pricing
- Webshare pricing
- Webshare free proxies FAQ
- DataImpulse residential pricing
- Bright Data residential pricing
- Bright Data residential access rules
- Bright Data Web Unlocker pricing
- Bright Data's Decodo-alternative page
- Oxylabs pricing grid
- Oxylabs residential pricing
- Oxylabs KYC and safety
- Oxylabs welcome credit
- Oxylabs' Decodo-alternative page
- Zyte API pricing
- ScraperAPI pricing
- ScrapingBee pricing
- ScrapingBee joins Oxylabs' group
- apiserpent.com pricing
